In ‘Miracle Planet: The Violent Past’ you learn what would happen if a giant 300 mile (500 kilometers) wide asteroid strikes Earth.
Well look at this nicely made asteroid impact simulation! But it’s creepy and apocalyptic!
The simulation features a massive asteroid traveling at a speed of over 720,000 kilometers per hour (450,000 mph) before hitting the Pacific about 1,500 kilometers (1,000 mi) south of Japan.
As a result of the impact:
- The crust of the Earth peels away. This CRUST TSUNAMI destroys Japan and a large portion of Asia. Furthermore large chunks of burning rock – like during a mega eruption – are hurled into the atmosphere before raining back down on the planet.
- The crater from the impact measures 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) across, and the rim stands 7,000 meters (23,000 ft), higher than many mountains on Earth today.
Don’t be afraid! Only 26 asteroids hit our planet with the force of our most powerful weapons.
- Moments after the impact, a blanket of rock vapor as hot as the sun spreads quickly across the planet, decimating every living thing in its path. The entire planet is covered within one day. The oceans boil under the intense heat, evaporating at a rate of 5 centimeters (2 in) per second until they vanish.
- After a year, the rock vapor starts to dissipate and temperatures begin to drop.
- Within 1,000 years, the evaporated water vapor — which does not escape into space due to the Earth’s size and gravity — cools, condenses, and falls back as torrential rain. The oceans start to fill, and life begins again.
According to scientists in the video, such apocalyptic asteroid impacts have occurred up to six times in the past.
